Apparatus for the manufacture of pneumatic tires



July 22, 1952 R. J. BARBER 2,604,420

APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PNEUMATIC TIRES Filed Nov. 10, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 R. J. BARBER July 22, 1952 APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PNEUMATIC TIRES 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. 10, 1950 i-m W y 22, 1952 R. J. BARBER I 2,604,420

APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PNEUMATIC TIRES Filed Nov. 10, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 y 22, 1952 R. J. BARBER 2,604,420

APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PNEUMATIC TIRES Filed Nov. 10, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented July 22, 1952 -1UNlTED JQSiT-ATE ENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR THE NlAN-UFAC'IURE .OF PNEUMATIC TIRES Roriald Jesse' Barber, Erdi-ngton; Birmingham, ;:England, ?assignor to Dunlop Tire and Rubber 1, Corporatiom Buifalo, N; Y.', a a corporation i of :aNew York "Application November 10; 1950',Serial 'Noi'194,959

j *In-GreatBritain September=13,--1-949 V 8Claims.

1 This invention relates: to apparatus sfor tthe manufacture' of pneumatic. :tires; and morez-Lparticularly is: concerned withwimprovedwmeansifor layingdown tire building. materials, :suchas: the

tread and "sidewalls; during? :the "building' roperasure into firm contact with the .tireacarcass: 1305,

1 cause them to-adhere theretoii:Thiscwilhbe referred to hereinafter iili- 'the specification as; layingl down andi is necessary-sci: that ithezafon'owing consolidating operationg-rwhichrr1snmore :severe and'in whichrevolving metalsdiscs: are traversed' g -from the centre outwardsracross thef'treadand sidewal1s', wil1 notzcause the? latterimaterials to ispread axially.

My present;invention provides improved appa- -r'atu's'i for laying: :dowri'; tire: :building: 1 materials which s'apparatusl is t'zipowerxrdriven andmore vithorough intioperation thanntheimanua'k method previously mentionedf: :Iniadflitiomtheiapparatus is: one :whicha provides acconsistentrlaying down 1 treatment inrwhich .fsuccessivetarticies are simi- 'larlyl treated, thus i substantially' eliminatingivariations inithe amountrandr'extentzof laying d'own I which :are inherent" inflthersmanua'li method,- and s resultingihimprovediuhiformity ofi'product.

According; to" the invention; Lapparatus: f or iay .wardly ,incontact'lwithtthe surfaceiofith'e imates lrials. on'vthel drum. -.Means are alsoprovided .for :automatic'al1y.: withdrawing .sthe elements. from lithe tmaterial sand \returningsthem :ito' tua'lly .adjacentpos'ition.

their? mu- :JcOne embodiments-of the; invention isiillustrated,

:: z byr way. ofz'examplqtirr-the caccompanying; draw- -a-,ings in which ,L'iFig. 1. is a sidexelevationqoirthempparatus in accordancecwiths' the invention :showrr: partly ;in

: cross-section;

Fig. 2 is anciend' -elevatiomof itheiapparatus shown in Fig. 1;

FiFig. 3: is a cross-sectionalzside:elevationzoithe .ie'ed carriage shown: in: Figs. 1;",and:.2;

I Fig. 4 is a plan View of a.foot-operatedairwalve andrelease. mechanism;

rection. of the 'arrow;

6 is a cross-sectionaLend elevation (if-part 'of a" tread roller.

The. apparatus.v .shoWn'iL-in the ;.accompanying rdrawings comprises essentially; as tire; building drum I. rotatable about afhorizontal axis, a guide rod 2i rotatablycmounted: at'zthe-xend. of a; spair of supporting arms 3 -located' atieaeh'endrof their'od 2, the said"arms.beingiirotatablei'on aipivotAisupported" by a bracket attached. tosthei ma'chine frame 6. The axis: ofithe guide rod is:-para-1lel.t0

thesaxisiofcthetirebuilding"drumand artpainof "c'arri'ages 1;areilslidablynsupported oniithevguide :rod and a are adapted :to. be": driven ;apart :by. a

' traversing shaft-r.-mountedzparallelttovthexiguide *rod. "Each :carriage' rotatably supports a'freely 2 ing downtire building'materialszwhich have been applied to a tire carcasszmounted' on a rotatable forming :drum prior to the: consolidating: operationconiprises a pair'offreely rotatablei circular resilient" elements adapted to contact the tire},

' building materials andto berotated'therebyrand means for moving the elements axiallyjapart.dur ingssaid rotation.

' In a'preferrediormsof the: invention azpair of carriages are mounted in mutuallyadjacentre- 5 lationship on a traversingishaft. z-Eachcarriage carries an element'comprising'a: tread rollerl'in the form ofian annular pneumaticvtube .onsa1sup- I. porting. wlieeliand a dise'i'fth'e idisc: -beingidisposed II 'able towards-the materials mounted on the: drum so' -that the elements comprising the 'treadrollers and 'di'scs'contact the materialsi' the carria ges'-'also being trayer'sa ble' froni thernutu'ally adjacent polrotatable consolidatingidisc 9. and atread laying 101 181201 wheel 2 Iii. T -GT-he: assembly, i. e;{ the "car- .riages I; guide rod 2;'traversing:shaft 8;}101161'3'01 nwheels l0 andzdiscs 9 canab'e':movedltowardsrthe .1 itire: building drum'; b$mmeans of t aniair'rcyl-inder I I l -After the v.earri'ages :have. been moved-:apart iwith-the'discs' and rollers in contact Witfilt'hxtilfl building materia1s'.= [allocated 'ontthe. drum; :ithe

, carriages are returned to a mutually adja'eent position-b-y means "of a mechanism showni'n Eigs.

The apparatuswilLnowbe: more particularly -descrihed. -Each end 'o f the traversing shaft 8 is rotatably supported on the end of one arm of a "-bell "crank lever "-13-, each-leverbeingpivotally between the elementsfi- 'Iheicarriagesare m'ov- I mountedon oneofthesupporting arms 35 Aiportion [4 of the traversing shaftlB has aright-hand threadformed-thereon and aM-fu rther-portion l5 "of the shaft-has a left-hand threadiornied en its surface, theshait having 'an integh"al chllar 15 ,2 mm=:w the -e1ements move axiauy outlocated between the left e'and -righ't-hahd thread l9 projecting from the supporting arm 3 adjacent to the guide rod 2.

Each carriage 1 is made up of a casting having a hole 20 disposed laterally across the carriage at one end thereof, the hole being provided with .a brass bearing bushing 2| in which the guide rod is slidably mounted. At the end of the carriage remote from the guide rod, a traversing shaft housing 22 is provided. This comprises a semi-circular hole 23, Figs. 1 and 3, formed on the top of the carriage having its axis parallel to the axis of the guide rod and constitutingpart of the traversing shaft housing 22. A'hou'sing cap 24 is rigidly attached to the carriage to enclose the traversing shaft housing 22, packing 1 plates 25 being provided between the cap 24 and the carriage so that an elongated hole is formed H 'in which the traversing shaft is capable of lateral movement. A half nut 26; Fig. 3, formed by parting a whole nut along a line axially of the nut, .is located in the semi-circular hole 23 forming part of the traversing shaft housing. The housing is providedwith aninwardly flanged portion 21 formed at an end of the semi-circular hole and a similarly inwardly flanged portion 28 is formed at one end of the housing cap 24.

The consolidating dics 9 is mounted on the traversing shaft and is provided with a hub portion 39 which has formed on its outer periphery an .annular groove 23 which locates with the inwardly flanged portions 21 and 23 of the housing 22; The consolidating disc 9 has akeyway 3! formed in the bore of the hub which rigidly locates a key 32 which is slidable in the keyway formed on the traversing shaft 8. An annular plate 33 is rigidly attached to an end face 34 of 1 the consolidating disc hub 30, and serves to retain the key in its correct axial position. The coninside an air cylinder 4 attached to each flange 41, the other end of each spring being attached to one of the supporting arms 3. An actuating arm 52 is rigidly attached to one of the return-spring flanges 41.

The eyed end 49 of an air cylinder piston rod 50 is rotatably mounted on the guide rod between the carriages, the other end of the piston rod has a piston attached thereto which operates H which is pivotally mounted on a bracket 53 rigidly attached to a portion of the machine frame.

. Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate a plunger 54 mounted on one side of the machine frame 6 and urged inwardly of the frame by means of a spring 55. The plunger 54 is of square cross-section (Fig. 5) and is thus non-rotatable. A collar 55 is rigidly attached to the plunger, the collar having a lug 51 formed integrally therewith, provided with a curved portion and a radial portion 5|.

A valve-operating arm 58 is pivotally attached between its ends to a valve 59 which, is rigidly attached to the machine frame and adapted to control the air cylinder ll. The arm 58 is provided with a catch 64 spring loaded by means of a catch spring not shown so as to be movable longitudinally of the arm. A tension spring 62 is attached to a lug 63 formed integrally on the arm 58, the spring urging the arm downwardly so that when the arm is in the position illustrated in Fig. 5, the catch 64 is urged into firm contact with the radial face 6| of the lug 51. When the arm is in this position, the valve 59 is open to admit fluid to the cylinder II. A treadle 65 is attached to' the end ofthe arm 58 remote from the catch 64. g

The operation ofthe apparatus will now be described. After the tire building materials l2 have been applied to the: tire carcass. the laying down operation can commence. The tire building drum is rotated at a speed of 150 R. P. M. and the operator applies pressure to the treadle 65. This rotates the arm 58 which opens the valve 55 so that air pressure is supplied to the cylinder II. The catch 64 rides up the curved portion 60 of the lug 51. The catch 64 is moved-axially inwardly of the arm against the pressure of the catch spring, not shown, until the catch moves clear of the curved'portion 60: The catch spring then actuates the catch so that it is moved into its axially'outward position, the catch being held against the radial portion 6|0f the lugs by the arm 40 projects longitudinally of the carriage and V has an extension lever 38 attached to its end, the lever 38 extending below the bottom of the carriage adjacent to the guide rod 2. A close-coiled helical spring 4| is rigidly attached to the end of the extension lever by means of an eyed bolt 42 fixed to the lever by means of nuts 43; The other end of thespring is attached to a spring flange 44 formed integrally with the feed carriage at its end remote from the L-shaped arm. Inward movement of the extension lever 38 towards the carriage is limited by a screw 45, attached to the lever 38 adjacent to its end, the end of the screw pressure of the tension spring 52. Thus the arm is retained in position 'bythe catch and'lug so that the valve 59 remains open when the operator removes his foot from the treadle 55.

The air pressure suppliedto the cylinder ll moves the piston of the piston rod' 5ll outwardly of the cylinder, the piston rod 50 moving the guide rod 2 and thus the 'carria fltowards the tire building drum 1. The tread rollers I0 contact the tire building materials I2 located on the building drum. Further movement of the piston rod causes the L-shaped lever 31, on which the tread laying rollers H] are mounted, to rotate on its pivot, this movement being resistedb'y the spring 4| attached to the end of the extension lever 38. The resistance of the spring '4l provides pressure to tread laying rollers III which are held by the spring in resilient contact withv the materials on the drum. Simultaneously the consolidating discs 9 are moved toward the-drum, and contact the materials on the drum after the movement of the lever 31. After the discs. have contacted the materials, themovement of the piston rod 50 carries the half nut 26, mounted in the housing 22,

into engagement with the traversing shaft '8. Movement of the traversing shaftv relative to the half nut is resistedby the tension of the spring I8 attached tothe bell-crank lever 13 which supports the shaft 8. a

. The tread layingwheels and the consolidating discs are rotated by contact with the tire building materials on the rotating drum, the rotation of the consolidating discs being transmitted through the consolidating disc keys 32 to the traversing shaft. When the rotating traversing shaft meshes with the half nut26 the carriages 1 are driven mutually apart carrying with them the discs and wheels which move across the surface of the tire building -materials to simultaneously perform the tread spinning and laying down operations.

When the consolidating discs and tread laying collar mounted on the plunger is moved by the plunger out of engagement with the catch '64. The arm 58 is then rotated by the tension spring 62 to close valve 59 which cuts off the air pressure to the cylinder l I and exhausts the cylinder air. a

The carriages then move away from the tire building drum and the spring attached to the end of the bell crank lever l3 rotates the lever so that the traversing shaft moves out of mesh with the half nut 26. The return springs 48 which are extended when the carriages are moved mutually apart, operate when the half nut is disengaged from the shaft in order to draw the carriages into their mutually adjacent positions. Movement of the carriages away from the tire building drum also allows the springs 4| attached one to each extension lever 38 to rotate the L- shaped lever 31 into a position wherein each screw 45 locates with the corresponding projecting portion 46 attached to a carriage.

Thus the assembly is in a position suitable for performing further consolidating and laying down operations.

Each tread laying wheel Ill comprises a pneumatic tube 66, Fig. 6, mounted on a rim 6'! on the periphery of a radial web 68 of the wheel 10 rotatably mounted on a needle bearing 69 located in the wheel hub 10 and rotatable on an axle H rigidly attached to the arm 39. The hub II! is prevented from moving axially off the axle 'H by means of a washer 12 held in position against a shoulder 13 formed on the axle by means of a nut 14. The nut is locked on the axle by means of a pin 15. An annular cover plate 16 for the bearing 59 is held in position on an end face of the hub by means of the countersunk screws 11.

A pair of rubber tire sidewalls 18 are located on the rim 6'! one on each side of the pneumatic tube 66 which is provided with a double covering of canvas 79 which entirely covers its outer surface. The sidewalls each have a bead 80 and a thin annular metal plate 8| fits snugly against the outer face of each sidewall. The tube,'sidewall and plates are held in position on the rim by means of a removable annular rim flange 82 held in position by the bolts 83 which screw into tapped holes provided in the radial face of the wheel [0.

The canvas covering 19 provides support for the tube and the covering limits the inflated size of the tube to the inside dimension of the canvas 6 covering; in addition it protects thetube from wear and is easilyreplaceable when worn out. The tire sidewalls 'IB'and the metal plates 8! prevent the tube 66 from rolling axially off the wheel rim'Blwhen side thrust is imposed on the tube during the tread laying operation.

The wheels l0 should preferably be of light construction so that in combination with the pneumatic tube and sidewalls the assembly has a low value of rotational inertia. This is a considerable advantage'in that laying down means having a low value of rotational inertia are capable of'rapidly assuming a peripheral speed which is substantially the same asthat of the plies or tread upon which they run.

In an alternative embodiment of the present invention the pneumatic tube is replaced by an annular member made of sponge rubber and having a similar shape to the inflated pneumatic tubeythe annular member is attached to the rim of a laying wheel by a suitable adhesive or other means.

In a further construction in accordance with the invention the carriages are drivenmutually apart by' power driving means. the consolidating discs are freely rotatable on the traversing shaft, which, instead of being rotated by the consolidating discs is rotated by power driving means. In other respects this construction is exactly similar to the one previcusly described.

Having described my invention what I claim is: 1. Tire building apparatus which comprises a rotatable forming drum, a pair of freely rotatable wheels each having an annular pneumatic tube mounted on its rim, a pair of freely rotatable nonresilient spinning discs located between said wheels, means for pressing said annular pneumatic tubes of said wheels and said discs into rolling contact with material on the surface of said drum, and means to move said wheels and discs in opposite directions from the mid portion of said drum to the opposite ,ends thereof while said annular tubes and said disc are in rolling contact with material on the surface of said drum.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the axial movement of the wheels and discs is effected by the rotation of the discs.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 which comprises a pair of carriages movable in opposite directions axially from a mutually adjacent position each having a wheel and a disc attached thereto, means for moving the carriages whereby the wheels and discs move into contact with said materials on said drum and said carriages move axially from said mutually adjacent position and automatic means operated when the axial movement of the carriages has reached a predetermined amount for withdrawing the wheels and discs from contact with said materials on said drum and returning them to their mutually adjacent position.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein the means for moving the wheels and discs axially apart comprises a traversing shaft a portion of said shaft having a right-hand thread formed thereon and a further portion having a 1 left-hand thread formed thereon, at least one of said discs being slidably keyed to one of said portions whereby the discs are slidable axially on and drive the said shaft, and a screw threaded member associated with each of the carriages, each of said members being adapted to engage a screw threaded portion of the shaft when the In this instance I wheels-and discs are moved in'toicontact with the said materials and to disengage the said portion when the wheelsrand, discs aremoved outyofcontactwith' the said materials. '1 T. 5.; Apparatus for laying down the building elements ,on a tire carcass on a rotatable drum which comprisejsapair of carriages movable from a mutually adjacent position in opposite direc-: tions parallel to the axis of a tire carcass and movable toward and from the tire, carcass, each carriage having a; rotatable jwheel, carrying on its rim an' annularpneumatic tube, and, a ro-- tatable non-resilient disc spaced axially from its respective wheel toward the central plane of the tire carcass to contact an'd'be rotated by the tire carcass and a driving element to move said carriages away fromeach other during contact of the annular pneumatic tubes of said wheels and of said discs with said tire carcass. 6. l he apparatus of claim in' which said driving means comprises an axially fixed rotatable screw oppositely threaded on opposite sides of the mid plane of the tire carcass and slidably keyed to one of said discs and a half nut on eachcarriage movable into engagement with said screw by relative displacement of said screw on pressure contact of said discs with said carcass. '7. The apparatus of claim 5 having means to withdraw said; carriages from said tire carcass whensep'arated to a set'distancai'f L 8. Apparatus for laying down ti're building elements on'a' tire carcass on a rotatable drum which comprises a pair of carriages. movable from a mutually adjacent position in opposite directions parallel to the axis'ofia tire carcas'sand movable towardand from the tire carcass, each carriage having a rotatable wheel, carrying an annular pneumatic tube on'its rim, and a rotatable nonresilient disc spaced axially'from its respective wheel toward the central plane of the tire carcass to contact and :be rotated by the tire carcass,

andfluid-actuated means to move said carriages Numbera Name 7 Date 2,161,117 Wikle June 6, 1939 2,381,379 Stevens Aug. '7, 1945, 2,464,020 Breth Mar. 8, 1949 2,541,648 Haase Feb. 13, 1951 

1. TIRE BUILDING APPARATUS WHICH COMPRISES A ROTATABLE FORMING DRUM, A PAIR OF FREELY ROTATABLE WHEELS EACH HAVING AN ANNULAR PNEUMATIC TUBE MOUNTED ON ITS RIM, A PAIR OF FREELY ROTATABLE NONRESILIENT SPINNING DISCS LOCATED BETWEEN SAID WHEELS, MEANS FOR PRESSING SAID ANNULAR PNEUMATIC TUBES OF SAID WHEELS AND SAID DISCS INTO ROLLING CONTACT WITH MATERIAL ON THE SURFACE OF SAID DRUM, AND MEANS TO MOVE SAID WHEELS AND DISCS IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS FROM THE MID PORTION OF SAID DRUM TO THE OPPOSITE ENDS THEREOF WHILE SAID ANNULAR TUBES AND SAID DISC ARE IN ROLLING CONTACT WITH MATERIAL ON THE SURFACE OF SAID DRUM. 